


(and by a sleep) to say we end

by hideyseek



Series: miscellanea, or author's favorites [2]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Asynchronity, Established Relationship, M/M, Mission Control - Freeform, Spaceships, did it in a sentence and i have never been more impressed by my own grasp of the english language, sorry folks this is a SAD one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24209251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hideyseek/pseuds/hideyseek
Summary: This inevitable, asynchronous ache — they are men, out of time.
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Series: miscellanea, or author's favorites [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722607
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	(and by a sleep) to say we end

**Author's Note:**

> written as part of the fifth(!) week of week of the AEDWQ (Arthur/Eames Drabble Writing Quarantine) run by the fantastic teacuphuman02!  
> prompt: When I Think of You  
> genre: sci-fi  
> word count: 300 exactly 
> 
> huge thanks to @musingsofaretiredunicorn for titling and betaing and cheering!
> 
> title from that one monologue hamlet does from the self-named play, but it's really not made any better by context.

Outside his window, the stars are infinite.

The intercom clicks, “Mission Control to Podship 11, ready for systems check?” Arthur’s voice is painfully familiar: those clipped, firm consonants.

He sounds like that, too, when he’s in the shower and doesn’t want Eames to join him.

“Ready,” breathes Eames, meaning _not ready_.

Duty over love, isn’t that always how it goes in the vids? _One monumental sacrifice for man is but a small sacrifice for mankind,_ Generic Hero intones, and onscreen his ship goes supernova _._

“Trajectory locked?”

“Locked.”

“Countdown initiated?”

“Initiated,” Eames echoes, and flicks his IV on. His wrist goes cold.

“Thirty seconds, then,” says Arthur. His voice wavers, or maybe it’s Eames who’s shaking.

In the onship screen, Eames watches the sudden ricochet of his heartbeat. There’s no way Arthur misses it on his workstation monitors.

“Distress is not unusual, Podship,” Arthur says eventually. Then, “Twenty seconds to cryostasis.” He’d always been the professional one.

Eames asks the question, then, because he hadn’t. “What will you do, after this?”

Arthur’s voice is bracketed by silence. “I didn’t get that, Podship. Over.”

Eames says, “Arthur.”

Tomorrow, Eames will be asleep, and Arthur will be back at work, guiding the next thousand conscripted researchers into living history. Tomorrow, Arthur will start the rest of his life, and sometime after that, Eames will wake up.

Arthur says, “Don’t ask me to answer that again.”

The ship is silent, except for the tremble of Eames’ breathing and the hum of the intercom. He’s lost feeling in his whole arm, now. Everything is going blurry, except

Arthur’s voice: “Five seconds.”

“Five seconds,” Eames whispers. He means, _I’ll love you_.

“Go to sleep, Mr. Eames,” says Arthur gently, all soft, round vowels. 

The intercom clicks off. Eames drifts.

Outside the podship, the stars are infinite.

**Author's Note:**

> ohhh, man. sometimes? sometimes i write something and i'm a little bit astounded by it, too, by how much work every sentence is doing, by the handful of very specific artistic choices that i was inclined toward or prodded toward that moved the piece from alright to exceptional (imo, ofc. feel free to dislike this immensely, that's super valid). this one? this one is one of those. 
> 
> **fun process fact:** for eight hours on tuesday, after i'd figured out what was going to happen but before i'd managed to write out those things happening with the proper emotional weight, this story was named "bye-bye, mr. eames!"
> 
> find me on tumblr, slack, and discord @hideyseek!


End file.
